About

Founded in 2010 by award-winning film and television director Deb Day, Innovate By Day is a bilingual, certified woman-owned, values-led digital marketing agency. For more than a decade, we’ve partnered with organizations across corporate, cultural, government, and not-for-profit sectors to create meaningful, audience-centred digital experiences through creative marketing tactics.

Today, we act as Architects of Trust, helping organizations navigate an increasingly AI-driven digital landscape without losing the human side of their story.

Our Core Values

Agility

We embrace change and adapt quickly, finding creative solutions that keep projects moving forward, even when the unexpected arises.

Accountability

Transparency, trust, and responsibility guide our work. We celebrate successes openly, learn from challenges, and create supportive environments where people feel respected and empowered.

Creativity

Innovation thrives when people feel inspired to explore new ideas. We encourage curiosity, experimentation, and imaginative thinking to continuously elevate our work and tell better stories.

Collaboration

We believe the best ideas come from working together. By combining diverse perspectives, experiences, and skill sets, we create stronger, more meaningful solutions.

Empowerment & Leadership

We encourage leadership at every level and support each team member’s individual strengths, growth, and professional development.

Open Communication

Clear, respectful communication is foundational to how we work. We prioritize active listening, collaboration, and transparency so everyone feels informed, supported, and heard.

Our Commitments

We don't just build strategies for our clients; we hold ourselves to the same standards of responsibility, accessibility, and impact that we bring to every project.

Accessibility

We are committed to creating digital experiences that are accessible to everyone. From video production and website development to digital campaigns and social content, our work is designed to align with AODA and WCAG standards while supporting inclusive audience engagement across platforms.

Diversity & Inclusion

We celebrate diversity across our team, culture, and creative practices. By embracing different backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences, we foster an environment that strengthens creativity, collaboration, and innovation.

Environmental Impact

We recognize the importance of environmental stewardship and continue working toward more sustainable workplace practices, mindful production approaches, and ongoing organizational awareness.

Meet the Team

We are an agile team of creative people with diverse backgrounds, unique perspectives, and big ideas. We collaborate as much as we cheer each other on and share a love for storytelling in all its forms.

Deb Day She/her/elle

CEO & Chief Strategist

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Deb Day She/her/elle

CEO & Chief Strategist

Deb is the founder, President, and Chief Strategist of Innovate By Day. As a marketing strategist with a long history serving the entertainment and cultural industries, Deb is known as “the storyteller that the storytellers hire” to build their brands. Deb leverages her experience to lead teams that create effective social media strategies and engaging video content for brands, companies, broadcasters, not-for-profit, and public sector organizations. Deb works with media networks, executives, and business owners to accelerate their ideas and shape their narratives in the digital space.

As IBD’s founder and lead storyteller, Deb brings over two decades of experience as an award-winning film and TV director and producer. Her expertise as a creative strategist is the heartbeat of our agency, driving our mission to turn high-stakes mandates into deeply resonant narratives. With a keen eye for opportunity and lasting social impact, Deb oversees the strategic frameworks that allow our clients to tell their stories safely and powerfully. Known for her infectious dynamism, she brings energy and dedication to everything she does—whether she's leading a complex marketing strategy, dipping into a cold lake, or dominating the pickleball court. Need a visionary to look at your strategy? Ask Deb.

Calvin Winter he/him

Web Team Lead & Senior Full Stack Developer

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Calvin Winter he/him

Web Team Lead & Senior Full Stack Developer

An incredibly talented web developer and coding master, Calvin has been a cornerstone of the IBD team since 2017. He specializes in turning complex digital requirements into seamless, secure, and highly accessible website experiences. No architecture is too big or codebase too long for this multi-talented digital storyteller. Calvin makes the technical backend look easy, translating complex tech terms into clear, actionable strategies for our clients. When he isn’t engineering flawlessly structured websites, this all-around great guy can be found enjoying nature or cheering on his favourite hockey team.

Deb Day She/her/elle

CEO & Chief Strategist

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Deb Day She/her/elle

CEO & Chief Strategist

Deb is the founder, President, and Chief Strategist of Innovate By Day. As a marketing strategist with a long history serving the entertainment and cultural industries, Deb is known as “the storyteller that the storytellers hire” to build their brands. Deb leverages her experience to lead teams that create effective social media strategies and engaging video content for brands, companies, broadcasters, not-for-profit, and public sector organizations. Deb works with media networks, executives, and business owners to accelerate their ideas and shape their narratives in the digital space.

Doug Benn he/him

Associate Director of Content & Video Production

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Doug Benn he/him

Associate Director of Content & Video Production

No IBD video project is complete without Doug’s care and strategic oversight. As an award-winning videographer and director, he keeps integrity and authenticity at the absolute forefront of his work. He is instrumental in delivering our documentary-style storytelling, ensuring every piece of content is emotionally resonant and perfectly aligned with our clients’ needs. Since 2016, his thoughtful leadership, creativity, and fantastic sense of humour have elevated our team dynamic in the best ways possible. He’s also a massive fan of musical theatre and cats.

Joe Parente he/him

Senior Video Editor & Creative Producer

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Joe Parente he/him

Senior Video Editor & Creative Producer

Every elite creative team needs a brilliant visionary who possesses a unique edge, and ours is Joe. Since 2017, Joe’s award-winning shooting and editing skills have been in high demand across our most complex client work. His obsession with cinematic detail and pacing makes him the perfect editor to ensure your narrative is flawlessly executed and deeply compelling. Outside the editing suite, Joe is a skilled musician with a massive vinyl and film collection, and he remains our resident expert on horror, music, and the colour black.

Laurie-Anne Villeneuve she/her/elle

Bilingual Project Manager

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Laurie-Anne Villeneuve she/her/elle

Bilingual Project Manager

When it comes to executing seamless, national campaigns, nobody handles bilingual project management better than Laurie-Anne. Since 2023, she has expertly managed all bilingual IBD projects, ensuring our storytelling remains culturally nuanced, legally compliant, and impactful across both English and French markets. Laurie-Anne regularly impresses us with her agility, graphic design skills, and unmatched customer service. She provides our clients with invaluable strategic insights into Canada’s francophone culture, supports our coast-to-coast business development, and keeps the team laughing with her hilarious jokes. Merveilleuse!

Sharmin Oomatia she/her

Web Developer

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Sharmin Oomatia she/her

Web Developer

A true web wizard, Sharmin brings over four years of specialized experience crafting robust WordPress and Shopify platforms to the team. With a Bachelor of Computer Applications and education in UX Design, she masterfully blends great technical skills with a creative design flair. Sharmin ensures our clients’ websites are not just visually stunning but functionally secure and optimized for performance. Fluent in English, Hindi, and Gujarati—as well as JavaScript, PHP, HTML, and CSS—she builds seamless multilingual sites and tackles every complex development challenge with a bright smile.

Sharon McDonald She/her

Digital & Social Media Specialist

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Sharon McDonald She/her

Digital & Social Media Specialist

With nearly a decade of specialized experience in digital strategy and storytelling, Sharon is the driving force behind our clients’ community engagement. She doesn’t just manage platforms; she brings purpose-led brand voices to life with absolute clarity, creativity, and strategic intention. Known for her razor-sharp, audience-first mindset, Sharon excels at translating highly complex organizational ideas into compelling, authentic narratives that drive measurable momentum. When she isn’t executing flawless campaigns, Sharon is usually exploring local farms, whipping up plant-based meals, or recharging near the water with her beloved fur babies, who also proudly serve as her highly demanding, unofficial co-workers.

Torin Stefanson he/him

Director of Finance & Production

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Torin Stefanson he/him

Director of Finance & Production

Filmmaker, writer, director, tabletop game creator, and mobile app designer, Torin is a polymath of digital innovation. Since joining IBD in 2015, Torin has grown from our Head of Production to Director of Finance & Production. He is the vital link between creative ambition and financial reality, ensuring complex projects are delivered on time, on budget, and fully compliant. Whether navigating old-school production techniques or new-school tech advancements, Torin’s problem-solving skills are unmatched. He is our Saskatoon-based digital innovator and a deeply trusted leader who keeps the agency thriving.

VC Crapsi-Krisiuk she/her they/them

Associate Director of Operations & Marketing

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VC Crapsi-Krisiuk she/her they/them

Associate Director of Operations & Marketing

VC leads with calm confidence, sharp instincts, and a colour-coded spreadsheet. With over a decade of experience in strategic marketing and project leadership, they joined IBD in 2022 and quickly became the operational force behind big ideas, complex teams, and the kind of organized chaos they secretly love. Equal parts problem-solver, dog lover, and professional wrangler, VC knows how to spot opportunities, keep momentum moving, and make meaningful work happen. Off the clock, VC is all about making meaningful things happen and bringing both heart and hustle as a core volunteer for Save Our Scruff, helping rescue pups find their forever homes.

Xiangxu Teng She/her

Web Developer

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Xiangxu Teng She/her

Web Developer

Xiangxu is a developer with years of experience building dynamic, user-friendly websites. Detail-oriented, patient, and resourceful, she has a talent for turning complex ideas into clean, practical solutions that actually work. Whether she’s debugging tricky code or improving user experiences, Xiangxu brings both technical expertise and positivity to every project.
Outside of work, she’s usually adventuring through Azeroth as a longtime World of Warcraft fan, relaxing in Stardew Valley, or enjoying a Tim Hortons tea with something funny to watch. Cozy games, comedy, and good snacks are pretty much her perfect way to recharge.

Manor

Cutie Patootie

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Manor

Cutie Patootie

Nesta

Fetch Enthusiast

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Nesta

Fetch Enthusiast

Thor

Wellness & Walks Coordinator

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Thor

Wellness & Walks Coordinator

Cheddar Gorgeous

Good Girl in training

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Cheddar Gorgeous

Good Girl in training

Blue

Finger Biter

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Blue

Finger Biter

Unis

Baby Dinosaur

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Unis

Baby Dinosaur

Andy

The most interesting cat in the world

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Andy

The most interesting cat in the world

Kassys

Little Old Lady

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Kassys

Little Old Lady

Mika

Purrfessional Lounger

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Mika

Purrfessional Lounger

Ollie

Apartment Princess

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Ollie

Apartment Princess

Our Expert Ecosystem

At Innovate By Day, we believe in radical transparency. Delivering flawless, high-stakes campaigns requires not only our internal "Architects of Trust," but a carefully curated ecosystem of specialized, best-in-class experts. We partner with industry leaders who share our values and our commitment to rigorous governance.

Dedicated Paid Media Partners

Azura Marketing For over four years, we have maintained a deeply integrated, strategic partnership with Google partner, Azura Marketing to build and execute our clients' paid digital advertising campaigns. While Innovate By Day engineers your overarching brand strategy and creative, Azura brings elite, data-driven ad-buying expertise to the table. This seamless, multi-year integration ensures that for our government, cultural, not-for-profit and ESG clients, every single media dollar is deployed with absolute precision, targeting, and completely transparent ROI reporting. Together, we ensure your message doesn't just look great, it reaches the exact right audience at the exact right time.

Accessibility

At Innovate By Day, accessibility is built into how we work. We believe everyone should be able to access, understand, and engage with digital content.

Trained by Accessible Media Inc. (AMI), our team creates video, digital, print, and web content with AODA and WCAG standards in mind. We provide SRT and SCC caption files for video and use WCAG checklists to audit our work against AA accessibility standards.

Our goal is to create content that is inclusive, respectful, and welcoming to all.

Land Acknowledgement

We would like to honour the land that we are on, which has been the site of human activity since time immemorial. Innovate By Day’s head office is located on the traditional territories of the Huron-Wendat, Anishinabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and most recently, The Mississaugas of the Credit River First Nations. Ontario is covered by 46 treaties and other agreements and is home to many Indigenous Nations from across Turtle Island, including the Inuit and the Metis. These treaties and other agreements, including the One Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, are agreements to peaceably share and care for the land and its resources. Other Indigenous Nations, Europeans, and newcomers were invited into this covenant in the spirit of respect, peace, and friendship. We are all Treaty people. Many of us have come here as settlers, immigrants, newcomers in this generation or generations past. We are mindful of broken covenants and we strive to make this right, with the land and with each other.

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